Keep heart problems at bay with a standing desk

January 10, 2013

If you’re working inside an office, you might unintentionally be setting yourself up for health difficulties. According to a recent story by NPR, those who spend a lot of time sitting throughout the week face a far greater potential for heart related illnesses than do those people who are more physically active. The NPR story quoted a researcher from South Carolina University who found that men that sat greater than 23 hours per week were 64 percent more likely to die from cardiovascular illnesses than were those that sat fewer than 11 hours in the average week.

The Good News

The message is obvious: Get off your rear. Fortunately, you are able to reduce your sitting time by building a standing desk. A standing desk — that is exactly what it actually sounds like, a desk where you stand as opposed to sit — is far from expensive. It is possible to assemble it with inexpensive parts from Ikea. Here’s the recipe, thanks to the Lifehacker blog.

The Easy Way

Need a simple way to make a simple standing desk for yourself? Lifehacker suggests getting some Utby legs from Ikea. To make this desk — one that will be small but provides enough space for a monitor, keyboard and laptop — you’ll need a Vika Amon Top, Utby underframe, Ekby Jarpen shelf and one set of Capita legs. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding each of these items at your nearest Ikea. They ought to cost you a maximum of about $140. As reported by Lifehacker, you can put this desk together by just assembling the main desk and platform using a screwdriver.

A Bit More Complicated

You don’t have to settle for a homemade standing desk with a narrow top. You can easily move up to one having a wider top. And you can get it done while still limiting your desk-part shopping to your nearest Ikea. First, as Lifehacker recommends, find two packages of Capita brackets, one Lack shelf, one Vika Amon tabletop and five Vika Byske legs at your Ikea. Then grab your power drill and get to work. Lifehacker ranks this desk as a “medium” one to build, as a result it ought not to be overly challenging to assemble.